-Agents of Direct Socialization: Family is the most important, followed by the Communist Party, the education system, and the media
-The family is the basic unit in China, and family policy has changed over the years. During the mid-50s to the 80s family power declined, though it has regained since then.
-The 1-child policy applies to urban residents, with rural Chinese allowed up to 2 children. There are some exceptions to the rule, though, such as only-child ethnic minorities
-Fines for breaking this policy have lessened recently due to negative public opinion
-Education policies in China have been successful; they emphasized qualitative learning and mondernization, and they have no problem with sending students abroad to gain other knowledge that they can then bring back to China.
-The mass media is controlled by the Communist Party, with heavy editorial sight. There is no private mass media
-Criticism of government failures is allowed in the press, though criticism of current policies and the leadership is not.
-It is generally used to persuade the people to support their policies
-Political Culture- There are 3 themes: nationalism, national unification under central authority, and social/economic reform
-China has an authoritarian system. Their regimes legitimacy has been threatened by the failure of the Cultural Revolutoin, the Tiananmen Square Massacre, etc. It has managed to survive, though.
-Government over the past decade has become less obtrusive in everyday life.
-There is still no loyal opposition party to the Communists
-The major cleavage in China is ethnicity: the Han are the majority; minorities are only 8% of the total population. Minorities mostly live in autonomous areas (like Tibet) that make up more than 60% of the total Chinese territory and have a history of resistance; there are 55 total officially-recognized minority groups. The gov't has encouraged economic development in these areas
-Urban/rural cleavage is also evident
-Avg citizen participation in gov't: many vote in local elections (turnout exceeds 90%); many also get involved in gov't mass campaigns, which, in a way, incorporate the public into policymaking (to a small extent); some become community activists as well
-Political elites: many begin as community activists, then rise to the position of cadres, then become party members and so on.
-Cadres are appointed from within the bureaucracy
-Becoming a party member is the entrance to being a political elite
-Lately the Communist Party has had trouble promoting those with technical expertise who are also loyal party members
-Organized interest groups are not permitted, unless they are under state authority
-Instead the gov't has mass organizations, which allow for political discussion on strict terms. These are usually focused around workers and social groups
-Danwei: worker units related to the Communist Party that focus on certain occupations; people become dependent on them for employment, healthcare, etc. They have a weak impact on policymaking, though
-China practices state corporatism
-Only 1 non-official group is allowed per occupation
-Patron client networks and the nomenklatura list are both important for recruiting. They also use a system of personal connections similar to the "good ol' boy" networks in Great Britain
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